San Francisco
A native of Vancouver, Canada, Jeffrey Mallet began his path to success at the early age of 22 when he ran sales, marketing and business development for his parents' telecommunications company, Island Pacific Telephone, until it was acquired by telecommunications giant Cable and Wireless Communications in 1987.
Mallett was an early employee of Reference Software International, a company started by then San Francisco State University professor, Don Emery. The company, which developed grammar checking software, was purchased by WordPerfect Corporation where Mallett became head of the global consumer division.
Mallett established himself as an executive before the age of 30, being named vice president and general manager of the consumer products division of Novell, Inc. and a member of Novell's global marketing board, where he was involved with the merger of Novell and WordPerfect.
Appointed by Yahoo! Inc. founder, Jerry Yang, as president and Chief Operating Officer of this pioneering company when it was an 11-employee startup, Mallett helped Yahoo! go public and emerge into an entertainment and media powerhouse. Mallett is widely recognized as a key member of the team that built Yahoo! into an internet giant.
Recognized as an innovative and creative contributor, Mallett served on Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell 's British Columbia Progress Board, an independent panel of senior business executives and academic leaders selected for their expertise on the province' s economic progress and environmental and social conditions.
Though recognized for his success in the internet technology industry, Mallett's real love is sport, particularly soccer, which he played at San Francisco State University. This love for sport fostered further career ventures in his life.
Mallet is a principal owner and executive committee member of Major League Baseball 's San Francisco Giants, a role that includes ownership and management of the award-winning AT&T Park. Mallett also has an ownership interest in the San Francisco Bay Area's regional sports cable television network Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Through his involvement in charitable and humanitarian projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, he exemplifies the values the San Francisco State University community holds so dear, including the courage to lead and an unwavering commitment to social justice.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the business and sports community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San Francisco State University are proud to confer upon Jeffrey Mallett the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.